U.S. patent number 8,634,720 [Application Number 12/038,926] was granted by the patent office on 2014-01-21 for remote control relay for wirelessly-controlled devices.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Robert Bosch GmbH. The grantee listed for this patent is Ron Johan, Dennis Michael Petricoin, Jr.. Invention is credited to Ron Johan, Dennis Michael Petricoin, Jr..
United States Patent |
8,634,720 |
Petricoin, Jr. , et
al. |
January 21, 2014 |
Remote control relay for wirelessly-controlled devices
Abstract
Methods and systems for relaying an optical signal from a remote
control to a remote-controlled device such as a home entertainment
device or a security device. Embodiments include at least one
optical receiver and a plurality of optical transmitters. The
optical transmitter positioned with an unobstructed line-of-sight
to the home entertainment device is identified and the data encoded
in the optical signal from the remote control is sent to that
transmitter. A second optical signal that is substantially
identical to the first is then generated at the optical transmitter
and communicated to the home entertainment device.
Inventors: |
Petricoin, Jr.; Dennis Michael
(Hemlock, NY), Johan; Ron (Queens Pk NSW, AU) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Petricoin, Jr.; Dennis Michael
Johan; Ron |
Hemlock
Queens Pk NSW |
NY
N/A |
US
AU |
|
|
Assignee: |
Robert Bosch GmbH (Stuttgart,
DE)
|
Family
ID: |
41013258 |
Appl.
No.: |
12/038,926 |
Filed: |
February 28, 2008 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20090220243 A1 |
Sep 3, 2009 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
398/128; 398/126;
398/130; 398/127 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04B
1/202 (20130101); G08C 17/00 (20130101); G08C
23/04 (20130101); H04B 10/1149 (20130101); G08C
2201/40 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04B
1/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;340/521-541
;398/126-128,130 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Leung; Danny
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Michael Best & Friedrich
LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A remote control relay system for wirelessly, remote-controlled
devices, the remote control relay system comprising a plurality of
optical receivers, wherein a first optical receiver of the
plurality of optical receivers receives a first optical signal from
a remote control and derives encoded data from the first optical
signal; a plurality of optical transmitters each positioned with an
optical receiver of the plurality of optical receivers and each
configured to generate optical signals; and a central controller
coupled to the plurality of optical receivers and the plurality of
optical transmitters through a non-optical communication network,
wherein the controller is configured to receive encoded data from
the first optical receiver, analyze the encoded data to identify a
corresponding remote-controlled device, identify one optical
transmitter from the plurality of optical transmitters that is
positioned with an unobstructed line-of-sight to the corresponding
remote-controlled device, route the encoded data to the one
identified optical transmitter through the non-optical
communication network; and generate a second optical signal only at
the one identified optical transmitter, the second optical signal
being substantially identical to the first optical signal.
2. The remote control relay system of claim 1 wherein the first
optical signal and the second optical signal include pulsed
infrared radiation.
3. The remote control relay system of claim 1 further comprising a
plurality of security system control panels wherein each security
system control panel includes one of the plurality of optical
receivers and one of the plurality of optical transmitters.
4. The remote control relay system of claim 3 further comprising a
central security system processor including the central controller
and coupled to each of the plurality of security system control
panels.
5. The remote control relay system of claim 1 wherein the first
optical signal is received from one of a plurality of remote
controls and one of the plurality of optical transmitters is
positioned in unobstructed optical communication with a plurality
of remote-controlled devices.
6. The remote control relay system of claim 1 further comprising a
data storage medium containing a list of device identifiers and the
corresponding optical transmitters.
7. The remote control relay system of claim 6 wherein the
controller is further configured to derive the device identifier
from the encoded data, and access the list in the data storage
medium to identify the corresponding optical transmitter.
8. The remote control relay system of claim 6 wherein the
controller is further configured to derive the device identifier
from the encoded data, access the list in the data storage medium,
identify the device identifier as previously unknown, and add the
device identifier and the corresponding optical transmitter to the
list, wherein the corresponding optical transmitter is the optical
transmitter positioned with the optical receiver that derived the
encoded data.
9. The remote control relay system of claim 6 further comprising an
initializing button positioned with one optical receiver and one
optical transmitter, wherein the controller is further configured
to: derive a new device identifier from the encoded data received
while the initializing button is pressed, and add the device
identifier and the corresponding optical transmitter to the list,
wherein the corresponding optical transmitter is the optical
transmitter positioned with the pressed initializing button.
10. The remote control relay system of claim 1 wherein the second
optical signal has a higher amplitude than the first optical
signal.
11. A method of controlling a wirelessly, remote-controlled device,
the method comprising: receiving a first optical signal generated
by a remote control associated with the remote-controlled device at
a first optical receiver of a plurality of optical receivers;
deriving encoded data from the first optical signal; transmitting
the encoded data through a non-optical communication network to a
central controller connected to a plurality of optical
transmitters, wherein each optical transmitter of the plurality of
optical transmitters is positioned with an optical receiver of the
plurality of optical receivers; identifying one optical transmitter
from the plurality of optical transmitters, wherein the one optical
transmitter is positioned with an unobstructed line-of-sight to a
the home entertainment device; transmitting the encoded data
through the non-optical communication network to the one identified
optical transmitter; and emitting a second optical signal only from
the identified optical transmitter, wherein the second optical
signal is substantially identical to the first optical signal.
12. The method according to claim 11 further comprising: deriving a
device identifier from the encoded data, and accessing a list of
device identifiers and corresponding optical transmitters from the
plurality of optical transmitters, wherein the corresponding
optical transmitter is the optical transmitter positioned with an
unobstructed line-of-sight to the home entertainment device.
13. The method according to claim 12 further comprising:
identifying the device identifier as previously unknown when the
identifier is not included in the list, and adding the previously
unknown device identifier and the corresponding optical transmitter
to the list, wherein the corresponding optical transmitter is the
optical transmitter positioned with an optical receiver that
derived the encoded data.
14. The method according to claim 12 further comprising: deriving a
new device identifier from the first optical signal received while
an initializing button is pressed, and adding the device identifier
and the corresponding optical transmitter to the list, wherein the
corresponding optical transmitter is the optical transmitter
positioned with the pressed initializing button.
15. The method according to claim 12 further comprising: receiving
an optical device signal at an optical receiver, wherein the
optical device signal is generated from the remote-controlled
device, deriving the device identifier from the optical device
signal, updating the list such that the optical transmitter
corresponding to the device identifier is the optical transmitter
positioned with the optical receiver.
16. A security system comprising: a plurality of security system
control panels each including an infrared transmitter and an
infrared receiver; and a central security system controller
connected to each of the plurality of security system control
panels in a non-optical communication network configured to receive
the content of a first infrared signal captured by the infrared
receiver of one of the plurality of security system control panels,
identify one security system control panel from the plurality of
security system control panels that is positioned with an
unobstructed line-of-sight to a remote-controlled device based on
data encoded in the first infrared signal; communicate the content
of the first infrared signal to the identified one security system
control panel through the non-optical communication network, and
emit a second infrared signal from the infrared transmitter of the
one identified security system control panel, wherein the second
infrared signal is identical to the first infrared signal.
17. The security system of claim 16 further comprising a remote
computer server including the security system controller.
18. The security system of claim 16 further comprising a main
security system control panel including the security system
controller, an infrared transmitter, and an infrared receiver.
19. The remote control relay system of claim 1, wherein the
non-optical communication network includes a wired network.
20. The remote control relay system of claim 1, wherein the
non-optical communication network includes a wireless communication
network.
Description
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
The invention relates generally to the remote control of home
entertainment devices and other similar devices. In particular, the
invention relates to remote control of devices from a location
outside the normal range of a typical remote control.
Universal remote controls that generate the same type of signal in
response to a depressed button that would have been generated by a
home entertainment device's original remote control are known. Home
automation systems that provide a central control system for home
entertainment devices, light/climate control, and control of other
home electronic systems are also known. In these systems, a central
command center or user interface (such as a wall-mounted control
panel) is often hard-wired to the devices that a user desires to
control.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Although remote controls are known, many of them are incapable of
operating properly unless a clear line of sight exists between the
remote control and the device being controlled. In a typical remote
control, an infrared (IR) or near infrared light emitting diode is
pulsed (i.e., switched on and off) to encode digital data. The
encoded data typically includes the command instruction to be
executed (e.g. "Volume Up") and a device identifier. The device
identifier allows a device to differentiate between instructions
that it must execute and instructions that it must ignore. Thus,
for example, a remote control for an audio amplifier/receiver will
not (normally) control (for example, turn on and off) a television
located nearby.
Although IR technology can be used to remotely control multiple
devices, IR remotes are not suitable in all situations. First, as
already noted, most IR remotes will not operate properly unless a
clear line of sight is provided between the remote control and the
device being controlled. This is true because IR signals tend to be
directional in nature (as opposed to omni-directional) and because
IR signals can be obstructed and do not, for example, pass through
humans, walls, furniture, and other items. The IR signals generated
by many remote controls also have a limited range, which is
approximately 30 feet in many instances.
However, modern devices, such as home entertainment systems, are
often distributed in multiple locations and configured to be viewed
or listened to while a person moves throughout multiple rooms. For
example, sound generated by a single audio system can be heard
throughout a home even though the main component of the audio
system (for example, the amplifier) is physically located in only
one room. Since, IR remote controls have a limited range and their
signals are easily obstructed, the use of such remotes in
multi-room systems is of limited benefit, because the remote
control will not operate unless the user of the remote control is
located relatively close and in a clear line of sight to the device
being controlled.
Home automation systems that are manipulated from a command center
or control panel do not adequately solve this problem, because,
among other things, (1) the control panels often do not have an IR
receiver to receive signals from an IR remote control, (2) the
control panels are often located far away from the devices to be
controlled, which means that they are often located outside of the
signal range of an IR remote control, (3) many devices are now
controllable only through a device-specific remote control and
configuring command centers to be responsive to each remote control
of each device that might be added to an entertainment or other
system can be expensive in terms of both time and money.
Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for
relaying a remote control signal from a standard remote control to
the corresponding home entertainment device when the line of sight
between the remote control and the home entertainment device is
obstructed. The home entertainment device may be a television, an
audio amplifier, a DVD player, or other device operated by a remote
control.
In some embodiments, an IR signal emitted from the remote control
is received by an IR receiver and communicated to an IR
transmitter. The IR transmitter generates an identical IR signal
and, because it is positioned in an unobstructed line-of-sight with
the home entertainment device, this second IR signal is
communicated to the home entertainment device.
In some embodiments, multiple IR transmitter/receivers are
connected to a controller. The controller analyzes the received
signal to identify the corresponding target device, identifies the
IR transmitter positioned in an unobstructed line-of-sight with the
target device, and replicates the signal at that transmitter.
In some embodiments, the remote control relay system is part of a
security system. In such embodiments, security system control
panels placed throughout a building are each equipped with an IR
receiver/transmitter.
In some embodiments, the communication between the IR receiver, the
IR transmitter, and the security system central controller is
accomplished using wireless communication technology. In other
embodiments, this communication is accomplished using wired serial
cables. In still other embodiments, other communication
technologies or various combinations are implemented.
In some embodiments, one or more IR transmitters are placed in an
unobstructed line-of-sight with a plurality of home entertainment
devices. In these embodiments, the IR receiver receives an IR
signal from any of a plurality of remote controls and the system
relays the IR signal to one of the plurality of home entertainment
devices.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates interconnected components in one embodiment of
the invention where an IR receiver and at least one IR transmitter
are coupled to a controller.
FIG. 2 provides an overhead view of one embodiment of the invention
installed in a building.
FIG. 3 illustrates the operational flow of data in one embodiment
of the invention.
FIG. 4 illustrates an example of digital encoding in an IR remote
control. The graph plots light amplitude as a function of time.
FIG. 5 illustrates the operational flow of data according to one
embodiment of the invention where the system includes multiple IR
transmitters.
FIG. 6 illustrates a security system control panel according to one
embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it
is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its
application to the details of construction and the arrangement of
components set forth in the following description or illustrated in
the following drawings. The invention is capable of other
embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in
various ways. It should be noted that a plurality of hardware and
software based devices, as well as a plurality of different
structural components, may be utilized to implement embodiments of
the invention. Furthermore, and as described in the subsequent
paragraphs, the specific configurations illustrated in the drawings
are intended to exemplify embodiments of the invention, and other
alternative configurations are possible.
As discussed above, pulsed IR is currently the predominant standard
for communication between a remote control and a
wirelessly-controlled device, such as a home entertainment device.
However, other methods of optical communication will similarly
benefit from the invention described herein.
An interconnection of components in a home entertainment system is
illustrated in FIG. 1. Remote control 101 is attempting to send a
signal to television 109; however, the line-of-sight is obstructed
by obstruction 111. Instead of the signal directly reaching
television 109, the signal from the remote control 101 reaches IR
receiver 103. IR receiver 103 is coupled to system controller 105
which is coupled in turn to IR transmitter 107. The signal
originally generated by remote control 101 is replicated at IR
transmitter 107 and transmitted by the IR transmitter 107. Because
the line-of-sight between IR transmitter 107 and television 109 is
unobstructed, the replicated signal is received by television 109.
Additional IR transmitters and receivers (such as
transmitter/receiver 113) may be coupled to system controller
105.
System controller 105 may be a stand-alone controller design
specifically for controlling a home entertainment relay system.
Alternatively, it may be a standard personal computer running
software. As described below, system controller 105 and the IR
transmitters/receivers (103, 107, and 113) may also be integrated
within a building's security system.
FIG. 2 demonstrates an example of how the embodiment described in
FIG. 1 is installed in a building. The building has three rooms
(221, 213, and 217) each with an IR transmitter/receiver (223, 203,
and 207 respectively). Room 221 contains a first television 225.
Room 217 contains a second television 209. A person is located in
room 213 with remote control 201. System controller 205 is located
in room 217.
Consider, for example, that remote control 201 is configured to
control television 209. The person in room 213 wants to increase
the volume on television 209, but wall 211 obstructs the optical
communication between remote control 201 and television 209.
According to this embodiment, the person points remote control 201
at IR transmitter/receiver 203 and the IR signal is replicated at
IR transmitter/receiver 207 in room 217. Because the line-of-sight
between IR transmitter/receiver 207 and television 209 is
unobstructed, the command is communicated and the volume on
television 209 is increased.
The operational flow of data can be better understood with
reference to FIG. 3. Similar reference characters are used to refer
to similar objects. When the person presses the button on remote
control 301, a digitally-encoded infrared signal 311 is generated
by an LED located in remote control 301. This infrared signal 311
is received by IR transmitter/receiver 303 and the optical encoding
is translated into electronic data 313 and sent to system
controller 305. Depending on the communication infrastructure used,
the electronic data 313 may be sent via a wired link (such as an
RS-232 link) or wirelessly (by using, e.g., a radio frequency (RF)
or Bluetooth.RTM. link).
System controller 305 may include a programmable unit that performs
intelligent routing (such as described below) or it may include
simple routing that forwards the electronic data 313 to all
connected transmitters. In either case, the electronic data 313 is
received by IR transmitter/receiver 307 which then generates an IR
signal 317 that is substantially identical to IR signal 311. The
home entertainment device 309 receives the IR signal 317 and
executes the command as though it had been sent directly from
remote control 301.
As referred to above, the LED in a remote control (such as 101,
201, or 301) generates a digitally-encoded IR signal. Such a signal
is created by rapidly pulsing the LED on and off. Digital
information is encoded in the optical transmission by varying pulse
frequency. The encoding demonstrated in FIG. 4 uses "space coding"
wherein the amount of time between pulses represents a one (short
time period) or a zero (longer time period). The pulse sequence in
FIG. 4, therefore, represents the twelve-bit signal 0110 0100 1100.
The encoded signal usually includes both a command and a device
identifier. For example, the 0110 0100 may represent the 8-bit
command for "Channel Up" and the 1100 may represent the 4-bit
device identifier for the television. Referring back to FIG. 2, the
device identifier allows television 209 to recognize that it must
execute the "Channel Up" command while television 225 recognizes
that it must ignore any signal it receives that is intended for
television 209.
As mentioned above, in various embodiments the system controller
(such as 105 or 205) is programmed for intelligent data routing. An
example of such routing is illustrated in FIG. 5. System controller
505 receives the electronic data 513 and determines the device
identifier. System controller 505 identifies the transmitter with
the shortest unobstructed line-of-sight to the home entertainment
device and routes the electronic data 513 only to that IR
transmitter/receiver 507. IR transmitter/receiver 507 then
generates an IR signal 517 that is substantially identical to the
original IR signal generated by the remote control (not pictured).
The home entertainment device 509 receives the IR signal 517 and
executes the command as though it had been sent directly from the
remote control. Because IR transmitter/receivers 503 and 523 do not
receive electronic data 513, they do not generate IR signals.
System controller 505 is programmed to include a list of all home
entertainment devices in the building (listed by their device
identifier) and the corresponding IR transmitter/receiver (such as
503, 507, and 523). When system controller 505 receives the device
identifier in electronic data 513, it locates the appropriate
sensor by accessing this list.
In some embodiments, this list is populated by monitoring for new
unknown IR signals. For example, referring generally now to FIG. 2,
when the user purchases and installs television 209 in room 217,
the corresponding remote control is typically first used in room
217. IR transmitter/receiver 207 detects this new IR signal.
Because system controller 205 cannot identify the appropriate IR
transmitter/receiver to route the encoded data, it automatically
assumes that a new device is installed and updates the list to
associate remote control 201 with IR transmitter/receiver 207.
After this update, all signals received from remote control 201 are
routed to and output by IR transmitter/receiver 207.
In an alternative embodiment, each IR transmitter/receiver is
fitted with a button. When television 209 is purchased and
installed, the user presses this button and points remote control
201 at IR transmitter/receiver 207. Thus, signals received from
remote control 201 are routed to and output by IR
transmitter/receiver 207. If the user later moves television 209 to
room 213, this process is repeated at IR transmitter/receiver 203
such that signals from remote control 201 are thereafter routed to
IR transmitter/receiver 203.
A recent trend in home entertainment device control includes
two-way communication between the device and the remote control.
The remote control sends a command and the device sends a
confirmation signal. In another alternative embodiment, IR
transmitter/receiver 207 monitors for such a confirmation signal
from television 209. If television 209 is later moved to room 213,
this embodiment of the invention detects the confirmation signal
from television 209 at IR transmitter/receiver 203 and updates the
list accordingly.
In other embodiments, the system controller is connected to a user
interface such as one provided by a personal computer. The user
enters new device identifiers through this interface in much the
same way as a universal remote control is initialized.
Additionally, modern home entertainment devices are now being
manufactured with wired communication ports. These two-way ports
are connected to a home automation system to send and receive
commands and status information. In an embodiment of the invention
utilizing such technology, the wired communication port is coupled
to the system controller. When the system controller receives an
incoming IR signal, it determines whether the corresponding device
is wired to the controller and, if so, sends the data directly to
the device. In such an embodiment, intelligent routing is performed
without generating a second IR transmission.
Although some embodiments of the invention are stand-alone systems
with a dedicated system controller designed specifically for home
entertainment remote control relay, various components of such a
system would be duplicative in certain building environments. For
example, security systems now include a central system controller
coupled to control panels located in multiple rooms.
An example of such a control panel 631 is illustrated in FIG. 6.
Control panel 631 includes a display 633 and a keypad 635. This
interface is used to monitor the status of the security system and
to control various functions such as arming, disarming, and
customizing the system. IR communication is not unique to home
entertainment device controls. IR communication is also used for
short range data transfer between electronic devices. In this
embodiment, security system control panel 631 includes an IR
transmitter/receiver 603 whereby information such as program
instructions and recorded statistics are transferred between the
security system and an external computer device. The multiple
distributed IR transmitter/receivers, wired (or wireless)
communication infrastructure, and central system controller
according to this embodiment of the invention perform the remote
control relay functionality described above.
In this embodiment, referring again to FIG. 2, IR
transmitter/receivers 223, 203, and 207 are security system control
panels such as control panel 635. System controller 205 is the
central security system controller. Depending upon the specific
security system, this system controller may be located locally or
remotely. For example, in some embodiments the system controller is
integrated into a main security system control panel 635. In other
embodiments, the control panels 635 connect to a remote server
through an Internet connection or telephone line. In the latter
embodiment, the remote server acts as system controller 205.
It should be understood that the invention has been described above
by reference to exemplary embodiments. Other configurations and
designs are possible. For example, it is understood that
alternative processing systems are available to implement the
system controller. Furthermore, the functionality of a system
controller could be distributed as a processor within each IR
transmitter/receiver. Various features and advantages of the
invention are set forth in the following claims.
* * * * *